Environmental Stewardship

FCA US, Ford and General Motors Work to Reduce Their
Environmental Footprint

FCA US, Ford and General Motors are taking a comprehensive, all-inclusive approach to “going green”. Combining innovation, engineering and ingenuity, the U.S. automakers have implemented environmentally friendly measures from the start of production, to the final sale of the vehicle.

Not only have the automakers designed eco-friendly, fuel-efficient vehicles, but they have also implemented factory-standards to further minimize their total environmental footprint. From reducing energy consumption and water usage, to recycling vehicle manufacturing waste, to building eco-friendly facilities, FCA US, Ford and General Motors are working to be responsible stewards of the environment.

To name just a few examples, General Motors is repurposing used wood pallets into wood beams for the homebuilding industry. Further, General Motors has transformed the grounds of their Grand Blanc, Michigan Customer Care and Aftersales Headquarters into a wildlife habitat, certified by the Wildlife Habitat Council. In constructing the habitat, they used recycled materials such as Chevrolet Volt battery covers, converted into duck nesting boxes.

Ford has aimed to reduce their footprint by extensively using recycled materials in their vehicle production. The seat fabric on the Ford Fusion is made from recycled water bottles, and post-consumer recycled nylon is used in vehicle components, such as engine fans, HVAC temperature valves, engine covers, cam covers and carbon canisters. Ford also uses soy oil in the production of the seat foam for all of the company’s North American vehicles.

FCA US has made extensive corporate efforts to encourage its dealer-network to put in place high environmental standards for their facilities. The company has established a new Dealer ECO (Environmentally Conscious Operations) Program, to recognize dealers that demonstrate eco-friendly practices. Among other implementations, some dealerships have installed extensive solar-panel systems and rainwater collection systems, to lower their overall environmental footprint.

The American Auto Industry is doing its part to innovate and reliably and dependably “go green.”

One person's overtime funds another's turkey dinner under the UAW-Ford Boxes of Love Food Giveaway that will help feed 25,000 families over the holidays.

About $750,000 is being spent to help feed needy families in communities where Ford has facilities. The bulk of the food boxes — 17,000 — are being distributed in the metro Detroit area with a high concentration in Dearborn.

Ford Motor Company wrapped up its fourth annual Coat & Jacket Drive by delivering more than 1,000 new and gently used coats, along with hats, scarves and gloves, to the Salvation Army.

The coats and other items were donated by local Ford employees and brought to the Salvation Army in two new Ford Transit vans. The Salvation Army will distribute the items to needy families in the Detroit area.

Ford Motor Co. said its aluminum-bodied F-150 pickup mated with a new 2.7-liter, turbocharged V6 can achieve 22 mpg overall and 26 mpg on the highway, the best of any gasoline-fueled, full-size pickup available.

Ford revealed the EPA label ratings for the F-150 at an event in Dearborn, Mich. Friday. There are multiple variations of the truck, depending on engine, cab configuration and whether the truck is 2- or 4-wheel-drive. Each change creates a different fuel economy figure.

Ford Motor Co. , one of the world’s largest car makers, will press ahead with developing more fuel-efficient vehicles even as lower oil prices make the strategic push less of an urgent matter, a senior company executive said Wednesday.

By partnering with a group of North Dakota livestock ranchers, Chevrolet and the U.S. Department of Agriculture are creating incentives to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.

In a program to be launched today in Washington, D.C., Chevrolet is buying credits from owners of about 11,000 acres of grasslands in North Dakota that will remain in production while eliminating about 40,000 tons of carbon dioxide emission through a variety of conservation practices.